As the waves crashed quite loudly into the sea before her, Elizabeth unthinkingly moved the zip of Dwayne's jacket up and down. It all but swamped her frame but she loved it. It was warm and comforting and it made her feel safe. She had watched the sunset from the sand of the empty beach with nothing but a few cawing seagulls keeping her company. In her mind, she had always thought of sunsets as being romantic - something to watch with a partner sitting together, maybe with a head on a shoulder. This sunset, however, was quite underwhelming. The day had turned, becoming a little cloudy and breezy and there had been no spectacular changing of colors, no sweeping displays of yellow turning to red. The sky had just become darker and duller until night had gradually made itself known.

All morning she had been excited, waiting and praying for this moment. She had willed time to pass, she had desperately counted the minutes before sunset, she had thought relentlessly about it but now she found herself waiting on a dark beach without even the stars to brighten the sky, waiting for the arrival of two people she wasn't even sure if she wanted to see.

She should have been with Dwayne but she had chosen, instead, to see David and Paul.

She prayed it wasn't a mistake on her part.

While the beach was empty and isolated, she wasn't frightened. She felt a niggling sense of fear but it was a different kind of fear. It was a worried and uncomfortable nervousness at having to come face to face with David. It wasn't even Paul, not really. It was him. David had been the one to truly scare her and still she had decided to take them up on their offer of a face to face meeting.

She hadn't told anyone she was going down to the beach. Grandpa had left to see the Widow, an excited and newly chubby Nanook trotting in tow. Michael hadn't returned home since leaving early and quietly in the morning. She'd had an uneventful lunch with Sammy after which they passed three hours with a murder mystery board game that was actually really difficult to get into but in the end he had also left to go and hang out at the comic book shop and spend time with his friends.

She was alone but she didn't feel lonely and it was a very welcome change.

"So you're really friends with the Frog Brothers now, huh?" Elizabeth asked, rolling the dice," actual, firm friends.."

"Yeah" Sam said, sounding a little wary, "they're hard work but I like them. Never thought I'd have friends that wear camo and like horror but that's where I am now"

"Mhmm..." Elizabeth said, not really listening. She had rolled a six and didn't know what she should do, "wait, do I get to take a murder card on a six?"

"No, that's with a seven"

"I thought seven was take two detective cards?"

"Huh? Noooo, you take the detective cards every roll, doofus?"

"Well I haven't been?"

"Aw jeeze, pass me the instruction manual" Sam ordered, shaking his head and moving their characters back to the starting spot.

They had reset their game four times already and only made it about three rolls each into the game before resetting. They had no idea where the game had been picked up and it was so terribly confusing. There were five dice, one of which had only ones on it. They had to roll different numbers of dices depending on which square they had landed on and then each result had a different meaning based on the square. If Elizabeth and Sam both rolled a six, their action would be different if they were at different places and it was too hard to keep track of.

"You think Grandpa made this game?" Elizabeth asked, turning the lid of the box towards her. There wasn't a production company listed.

"...nah, where are the dead animals?" Sam asked, frowning at the manual and scooping up two dice as he did.

Elizabeth laughed a little and shook her head, "oh, wait - no, there's a bar-code. He bought it..."

"It's from the sixties, maybe standards were lower?"

"Really?"

Sam nodded, "right, I'm the red character so I have to take a detective card every roll-"

"-ah-"

"-you're green, so you take a detective card every other roll..not when you roll a seven"

"OK..that sucks but anyway, I rolled a six..."

"I'm looking, I'm looking..."

"Wait, Sammy doesn't that put you at an advantage?"

"Elizabeth" Sam dropped the manual, "does anyone have an advantage in this game? Really?"

"Well if you're picking up a detective card every turn rather than every other, then I'd say yes-"

"-what are you talking about? It balances out. Anyway, green gets to take two weapon cards every time they roll an even number whereas red only gets a weapon card if the player rolls a nine twice"

They both looked at each other. There was no way this could be a real game.

"Over it?" Sam asked and Elizabeth nodded immediately.

"No TV and a game that defies all sense of logic" he said dryly, dumping the plastic pieces back into the box, "this is why I'm friends with weirdos. This is what Santa Carla and Grandpa have done to me"

Elizabeth laughed, scooping up the varying sets of cards that took up almost the entire coffee table, "you sure spend a lot of time with them, maybe you're a weirdo, too?"

He grabbed her wrist, voice low and shaky, over dramatic, "Elizabeth. Please. Please. Swear to me..if..if I ever" he swallowed, closing his eyes, "wear camo" he took a shuddering breath, "kill me. Just kill me. I'm better off dead than-"

"-ok, ok Sammy!" she giggled, tugging her wrist back.

He grinned and continued clearing up their game.

"You're a terrible actor"

"Am not"

She grinned at her brother, a feeling of fondness exploding over her as she watched him organizing the contents of the box, "I missed you, Sammy"

"You wanna hang out with me and the Frog Brothers?" he asked, a little oblivious to her moment of sincerity.

"Nah" she said with a smile and a shake of her head. He was clueless and she loved him for it but she had a much better way to spend her approaching evening, "I'm good but thanks"

"I'll introduce you one day-"

"-yikes!"

He looked at her with a grin, "better than spending the day locked up in your room. What were you doing anyway? I didn't shower for that long"

"You took forever and if you must know I was reading-" she choked a little on her words, "a book"

She had almost, almost said 'I was reading Dwayne's book'. It wasn't his book, it was Grandpa's and now, really it was hers but that had been close.

"A book" he choked the word in the same way that she had and then he cackled a little, "a book huh? What kind of book? Was it a bodice ripper? Some romance novel with a long haired hunk and a pirate ship-"

"-ha ha-"

"-and that's why you locked yourself away!"

He paused, holding the lid of the game before cringing a little. He had obviously spoken before he thought and, when his thoughts caught up with him, he clearly found he didn't like them.

She rolled her eyes and couldn't help the smile as it smirked its way across her face. He looked so uncomfortable but he was the one who made the innuendo as to what she was reading and why she had spent so long reading it, alone in her room.

"It was an adventure book, dummy. With elves and orcs and dwarves" she lied easily.

"-sounds thrilling"

She was tempted to embarrass him more, to say it wasn't as thrilling as a bodice ripper but, as he cleared his throat and secured the lid back on the game, she thought she would let him off this time.

"It was, actually" she thought of Dracula and how almost all of it had been crossed out until words like 'sunlight' and 'love' remained. Dwayne's world was still an enigma to her and she was no longer feeling afraid to be somewhat involved in it. Nervous and worried but not afraid. Cautious..but not afraid. She smiled, "you staying for dinner tonight?"

He shook his head, "going to make burgers with the Frog Brothers"

"At theirs?"

"Yeah, their kitchen is huge. There's a giant apartment above the shop. Literally, the whole length of the store, Liz. A two story apartment on top of the shop. So cool!"

"No parents?" she thought of the two sleeping figures she had briefly seen during her one trip to the shop.

"Mmmmm not really" Sam replied diplomatically.

Elizabeth thought of Lucy and how lucky they were to have her, "that sucks"

"Yeah but whatever. We have that giant apartment as our headquarters now"

"I'm sorry, headquarters?"

He shuffled, looking embarrassed once more, "that's their word, not mine.."

"Sam Emerson! Oh my gosh, we're going to find you in camo sooner than we thought!"

He popped the collar of his polka dot, floor length cardigan, "I'm out!"

She laughed, watching as he stood, "have run, Rambo!"

"Do I look like Rambo?!" he asked indignantly, pausing on the first stair and gesturing to himself.

"...not yet" she conceded.

"Not ever!" he assured her.

"Be safe, it's a dangerous world out there - get to headquarters fast!" she made a shooting gesture when he turned around with a wonderfully dramatic flair and laughed at his eye roll.

Sammy was the easiest target sometimes...

Elizabeth shook her head a little, smiling softly at the memory of her afternoon.

She had thought that Sammy was an easy target but here she was, alone and out in the open with David and Paul due any time.

She wondered, for a second, if that had been a stupid move.

Alone on an isolated beach with the two blondes...but then she tugged the zip of her jacket down once more, remembering that she was safe.

She had Dwayne.

She was the safest girl in the world.

She wasn't entirely comfortable in that moment but she trusted that she was safe.

He wouldn't let them hurt her.

As she waited in the sand, a good distance away from the crashing surf, she wondered what Dwayne was doing.

Was he at the cave? On the boardwalk? Was he with David and Paul? Just as she began to focus on and hope that they would come as a trio, two figures emerged down the beach and she couldn't help as her heart sank a little.

She had agreed to meet them though truthfully, the only one she wanted to see was Dwayne..still, she knew she had to try. She knew how much he loved the three boys. She remembered back to when she first met him, she had admired how they saw each other as a family but now, knowing what she did, she appreciated that they were more than that. She swallowed nervously. She knew the intensity of her own feelings, that her need and love for him was more than could ever be considered normal. She didn't understand the intricacies of mates, not really..not at all...but all the same, she knew that's what they were. Their relationship was special, it was unique, it was sacred and, as she turned to watch the ocean again, she thought of them all. Of Dwayne, Marko, Paul and David. From the very start she knew that their relationship was unique, too and now that she was thinking about it, she could see clearly..Paul and David had been in the wrong but Dwayne was the one being punished.

Elizabeth fiddled with the zip and she felt her eyebrows contracting as she thought about everything he had done for her. He'd held her, cleaned her vomit, helped shower and dress her, let her sleep on him, let her unload all of her fears..and then she remembered what Marko had alluded to. He was furious with David and Paul. So what did that mean? Dwayne was spending his time supporting her and then fighting with the men who were more than brothers to him?

Where was his support? Who was looking out for him?

She was still frightened, she was still afraid of being suddenly thrust into a world of the supernatural and what should be make believe...but she was sad, too. Sad and nervous and worried for him. Worried for herself? No..she knew she had his support. What had she given him? She felt a little guilty as she relentlessly twiddled the zip between her forefinger and thumb. She loved him so much and before now, before coming to the beach and having time to wait, to think, she'd not really considered his side of things.

She nibbled her lip. She owed it to Dwayne to try, she owed it him to at least speak with David and Paul..didn't she?

She shook her head, glancing at the fast approaching figures.

As her throat became dry, she tucked her hands up and into the sleeves of Dwayne's jacket.

She wasn't sure if she could do it.

Maybe it had been a mistake?

All too soon the newly arrived twosome came to stop in the sand and she turned to face them.

"Elizabeth" David inclined his head and she crossed her arms over her chest, meeting his eyes with a small nod of her own.

She steeled herself.

"Hey, chica" Paul said, his energy lower than she was used to and his smile careful. He sounded hopeful as he asked, "did you like the flowers? We did it last night, we didn't get permission first so that was a risk but it worked, huh? I'm super stoked you came, I was worried that you wouldn't.."

"I liked the flowers" she confirmed, her body still. She was trying to keep her words and tone as cold as David's were. Truthfully, she loved the flowers. They were beautiful and thoughtful, how could she not love them? She also felt a little sympathetic tug on her heart at Paul's outpouring of words, noting how he seemed to be making an effort to speak in subdued tones despite how much he likely wanted to bounce around and goof off.

Paul looked at her carefully, noting her stiff body and the firm lines of her lips. She supposed he was good at reading the air because this time his words were shorter and more succinct, "Lizzie, we're so sorry girl" he said with a shake of his head, "sincerely. We didn't want-"

"-yes, you did" Elizabeth interrupted with a little shake of her head.

His eyebrows furrowed a little and Elizabeth couldn't help but feel bad seeing him look hurt but she carried on. She had to. They had hurt her, they scared her. She couldn't just forgive that, she couldn't just let them off the hook, just forgive them so easily. She knew that she was safe because she had Dwayne, she knew she had nothing to fear for airing her true thoughts and feelings and dammit, she was going to.

She had to.

They had to know that what they did was wrong.

She didn't want to upset Paul, she didn't want to hurt him or cause him pain in return but they had terrified her. Utterly terrified her. Marko had been so kind, Dwayne was wonderful. Why couldn't these two muster up a little bit of their brother's understanding?

"You enjoyed it. You laughed"

Paul nodded, looking both abashed and also...not, at the same time.

She frowned at him in blooming confusion. She was being stern, she was being hard. She expected a more..a more apologetic reaction from the energetic blonde.

"I did enjoy it" he said, his voice frank and, at her now horrified look, he shook his head, "but I hate that it was with you, Lizzie"

She took a step back at his words.

"I'm sorry it was you, that's why I'm sorry. That's what I'm saying. I'm sorry you experienced that-"

"-then why did you do it?"

It was getting hard to keep her cool, to keep her thinly veiled facade up and then she steeled herself again. Paul hadn't really done anything. He'd tried to help her, in his own perky way. It was David.

She should be directing her words at David because that's who they were actually aimed at.

Now that she was finally facing them, facing reality..she knew. It was David. Deep down she wanted his approval and he had terrified her instead. He had purposefully, intentionally gone into her head in her moment of pure vulnerability.

She looked to him and he shrugged coolly.

"I won't apologize for our nature, Elizabeth-"

"-then why?!-"

David spoke harder, over her impassioned interruption, "-but I will, like Paul, apologize for showing it to you so soon"

"This is a terrible apology" she told them both, her voice shaking a little. Of course David would be cold and dismissive. She once again remembered his voice in her head and frowned. She had been stupid to think she could expect a decent apology from the him. She shook her head and turned away from them, shifting under Dwayne's jacket, "you should have just left it at the flowers"

The flowers had been perfect. The symbolism was beautifully created, thought out with care. The delivery had been nice. The note had been fine. They should have just left it at that.

She should have just left it at that.

Marko had told her that he was brutal, that he loved that about himself. David and Paul had showed her that side of themselves and it made her feel a a new and unpleasant blend of fear and disgust as she realized that it was only the smallest of hints.

She didn't want to believe that Dwayne was part of that, that Dwayne was capable of what she had been shown..small though it was.

She just didn't but faced with David, it was hard not to think about.

There was no warmth to be found in his eyes.

"Jesus" she whispered, folding her arms and shaking her head a little, looking at the cliffs in the distance. It had felt like a new start, a new day and she had stupidly thought Paul and David could be part of it.

She had been so, so stupid.

These two were nothing like Marko or Dwayne.

She was such an idiot to even think-

-Elizabeth froze. She heard the sand shift a little and she felt both boys standing fairly close behind her. Her arms erupted into heavy goosebumps despite the pleasant warmth of the breezy night and the protection of her jacket. Though she felt safe, protected in every way by Dwayne, she didn't like having David or Paul behind her. Unease further washed over her when she realized that they had allowed her to hear them. She had no doubt that they could have moved to press their bodies tight against hers and she wouldn't have known until it was too late.

Marko said he was brutal but with these two...she knew it.

They really were predators.

She turned in the sand and faced them, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Calm down, Elizabeth" David advised her, "we didn't come here to hurt or fight with you"

She still felt safe under Dwayne's protection but she could feel her heartbeat increasing, she could feel her body shiver involuntarily. She couldn't control the fear she felt and she absolutely hated that David and Paul could feel it too.

Taking a breath, Elizabeth shook her head, "you're so..so...God, you're so patronizing.."

David raised his eyebrow before smirking. His face then broke out into a smile and she hated, hated that flash of pride that danced across his face. She used to love it and she hated the fact that she still did. She hated his stupid smile, she hated his arrogance and she hated him..except, she didn't.

David was impossible. She didn't know if she could do it, she didn't know if she could even try and interact with him anymore.

Elizabeth shook her head, trying to be brave and strong, trying to keep her cool and her calm.

"This is..it's the worst apology ever and-"

"-no, no, no we're not done, yet" Paul said sincerely, sitting in the sand before her.

He plopped to the ground so suddenly and so fluidly, so unexpectedly that she froze once more, eyes latched onto his.

He looked so innocent and childlike as he crossed his legs and indicated to the spot before him.

"You're insane..." she said.

"Please?"

David grinned at her, a challenging and infuriating smile and she moved to clench her fists, pausing as she remembered Marko's warning about being careful with herself.

"Sit, Elizabeth"

"I'm not a dog!"

It was all going wrong. This wasn't what she had imagined their meeting would go like. She hadn't actually thought they would be so frustratingly frank but enigmatic, so cold yet friendly. She wanted to walk away from them but she also wanted to lash out a punch or a slap or a kick or something. She'd never raised her hands against anyone in her life but suddenly she could imagine a very strong and deep sense of satisfaction coming from punching the cold blonde.

They were making her feel afraid, angry, worried, nervous over and over but she also wanted their friendship too.

It was the single most frustrating thing she had ever experienced.

Paul opened his mouth and her eyes flashed as she snapped her head down to look at him. For a second she could have predicted exactly what was going to come out of his mouth, 'stop acting like a bitch then' and he coughed, shaking his head with his lips sealed.

"Come on, Elizabeth. Live a little, huh?"

She looked back at David and shook her head, "you're so-"

"-what did Marko tell you?"

David was watching her patiently.

She took a breath.

She could feel her lips pull into a tight, pursed little grimace and it took her a moment to collect her thoughts.

"...that he's brutal" she replied finally replied, meeting his eyes.

David nodded, "we are brutal. That's our nature and it's something we-"

"-embrace, yeah" she shifted in the sand, glancing down at Paul before looking at David again, "he said that, too"

David's smile flashed once more and she couldn't deny that she liked it when he had that approving look about him, "we're not used to being kind-"

"-yeah, it's not your nature and you've never had to be kind before, right? But fate and stuff has thrown me into the works and now you're figuring it out just the same as me?"

"To the point, I like it" Paul complimented from his place in the sand and Elizabeth frowned down at him. She wasn't going to accept his flattery.

"I'm just not in the mood to be playing your games"

David nodded at Elizabeth and, for the first time, she saw some understanding in his eyes.

It made her pause.

"In no way was Marko over exaggerating. I'm not a kind person, Elizabeth. But just because that's my nature or our nature doesn't mean that it will become yours if you make the choice to join us, I want you to know that before all else"

She opened her mouth to protest, to say that she hadn't even been thinking of that, that it wasn't something that needed to be said...but in the end, she said nothing.

Truthfully, it had been a little nice to hear.

He continued.

"I also want you to know that while you have nothing to fear from me and Paul, from now on we will be open and honest with you in every way. You know what we are and we will keep no secrets from you. We're not particularly kind and we don't sugar coat, either. That's also not in our nature. Our honesty won't always be pleasant. That being said, we will be more mindful of your feelings-"

"-we know it's a lot to take-"

"-and respectful of your boundaries"

She looked between David and Paul, the latter still sat in the sand near her feet.

"We're your pack, Elizabeth" Paul said quietly through a small smile, "we're gonna be totally open with you but we're gonna try and be nice about it too. We are, we promise"

She swallowed, biting her lip a little before releasing it and frowning.

Shit.

She took another deep breath.

That hadn't been a bad apology in the end.

"..does Dwayne know that you're here?" she asked, "is this..is this his apology?"

If the apology hadn't come from them, it would be easier to reject it, to tell them off.

David said "No" just as Paul said "yeah" and Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, looking between the two men.

"I mean, yeah he knows we're here. We arranged everything before we asked him if it was OK but we told him our idea and about giving you space and doing it in your own time and he was cool with it, not cool cool with it, not cool with us but-"

"-but no, this isn't his apology" David finished for Paul, his voice a little hard as he spoke over his friend.

"Oh"

"Why?"

Looking at the ocean behind David, Elizabeth shrugged before quietly and honestly saying, "that was a...that was an...annoyingly thoughtful little speech..that's all"

"Didn't think David could muster something like that up, huh?"

Elizabeth didn't move to look at or acknowledge Paul.

"..I'm...I'm thankful that you're going to be honest with me" she said quietly, finding it harder to be stern, "but..the thing is..you..you went out of your way to scare me"

"That's the problem?"

She bit her cheeks and decided that she would continue to not look at or address at Paul.

"Not to be dismissive-" Paul hastened.

"-I saw a problem and I dealt with it they way I always deal with problems" David said.

"...it wasn't nice" Elizabeth replied, not finding the strength to explain just how not nice is really was.

"I know. I'm sorry, Elizabeth-"

"-you didn't deserve that girl but it wasn't like, intentional intentional, you know?"

David nodded once, waiting for Paul to finish before stating, "it was instinct. It won't be repeated"

She was frustratingly sold by David's words, cold though the delivery was. He had spoken to her with a blunt level of honesty and she felt annoyingly respected. He wasn't making excuses, he wasn't dismissing anything..he was being honest about himself and offering to try and do better by her. It was a humble but strong move on his part and she felt herself respecting him a little.

She was starting to understand why he was the leader.

"We are your pack, Elizabeth" David said quietly, his eyes intent, "you've accepted Dwayne. I hope you can accept us, too. This can be a new start for us. Same page, no secrets"

Her features softening, she took a breath just as David said for what she thought would be the final time, "I'm sorry"

She didn't doubt his words nor his apology.

"Thank you" she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

David nodded once, inclining her head towards her as he did and then, apparently not one for making a fuss, moved to sit next to Paul. She felt uncomfortable standing over them and so she followed his action and sat before the two.

The sand was a little cold and she shuffled further into Dwayne's jacket.

"...now what?" she asked them, feeling confused.

They had shared such a sincere moment but David had already moved on.

"Our apology" Paul smiled at her, "it's a good one"

"..but?" she trailed off with a tilt of her head. Hadn't they already apologized?

"It's not our nature to be kind" David reminded her and he continued before she could respond, "so this is our apology"

"Scoop up some sand" Paul ordered.

She hesitated.

"We're trying nurture over nature, Lizzie"

"Trust us"

She took a breath. It was quite easy to trust Paul but to trust David? She met his cold, blue eyes before pinching some sand between her fingers.

"Nah, grab a handful, girl"

She did as she was told.

"Throw it up"

"What?"

"Throw it up" David repeated Paul's command.

As he and Paul shared a look with small, smirk mingled smiles, she once more did as she was told before gasping in awe.

It wasn't sand at all.

"Oh my God..." she breathed, eyes dancing around the darkened sky, "oh-how? Oh my God-"

She reached out to touch the cluster of golden butterflies dancing above ahead, their wings fluttering gracefully and their color bright, illuminating the darkness around them. It was a beauty that she had never before seen, one that could only have been imagined in the most perfect of dreams. Their wings released plumes of what she could only describe as gold dust and it sparkled above her, outshining the moon in every way.

"I've never-I-" she laughed in stunned delight, her fingers brushing against the softest, smoothest wisp of wing before the warmth, color and butterflies disappeared, leaving her reaching for nothing in the once more darkened sky.

Paul was smiling widely, his face bright and animated.

She looked at him, face equally as bright.

"You-how?"

Paul laughed, "it was David's idea"

"How?"

The icy blonde shrugged in a cat like motion, "we can manipulate minds"

"Never used it like that before though" Paul said, laughing a little, "did you like it?"

"I-" there were no words, "I can't believe-I can't believe that was real!"

"It wasn't" David told her, "we put it there, in your head"

"You can do that?" she was blown away.

He nodded.

"A tool for terror" Paul chuckled, wiggling his fingers and speaking like a horror show host before returning to his usual tone, "we thought you'd like that, you know? Use something usually dark, something scary for something good-"

She scanned the sky once more, hoping for another glimpse of the magic but there was none to be seen.

"-to show that we'll be good to you, Elizabeth" David said.

She heard the promise in his voice.

She heard it and she trusted it.

Honestly, she was moved by it.

"Thank you"

Paul moved forward and embraced her, planting a loud kiss on her temple as he squeezed her tightly, "friends?"

She nodded.

"...family?" he tried, a little quietly, seeming unsure of himself for the first time.

"In your own time though, hmm?" David added, watching as Elizabeth and Paul released each other from their friendly embrace.

She thought of Dwayne, of how happy she was when she was with him, of how much she loved him. She wanted to be with him...

She thought that perhaps..perhaps, with time and patience, she would feel the same about the pack...

She nodded slowly.

In her own time.

She smiled at them both, "..is, um..is he here?"

Elizabeth didn't want to be rude but now that what needed to be said had been said, now that everything felt OK, everything felt correct and..just right..she wanted to see Dwayne. She wanted to celebrate with him, to have fun and laugh and kiss and just be happy.

After the past few days, that's all she wanted.

She wanted to be happy. She wanted to date and hold hands and be with him.

No tears, no fear.

"Want us to take you to him?" Paul asked.

"Yes please"

"You got it, girly"

The wild haired blonde hauled himself to his feet, hoisting Elizabeth up as he went. She laughed a little as his energy returned full force, shaking her head as he grinned at David, who was already on his feet.

"We flying?"

"No" Elizabeth said quickly. She didn't want to do anything else..supernatural with them.

If she was going to see the world of vampires, if she was going to see or do anything from now on..the first time would be with Dwayne.

It would always be with Dwayne.

"Lucky we brought our bikes" David said, a knowing little smile on his face. He extended his arm and she followed his lead, walking down the beach with each man walking beside her, meeting her pace.

"I'm glad we're friends again, Lizzie" Paul said.

"I'm only doing this for Dwayne" she replied softly, a little teasingly. It wasn't entirely a lie. She had tried for herself and Dwayne but if she was honest, it was easy to accept their apology in the end.

"Good" David replied with a nod and she hated herself for the little flash of happiness she felt at the approval lacing his words.

"I'm serious, Lizzie!" Paul protested, "I'm really fucking glad we're cool"

"...me too" she admitted quietly, ducking and laughing little as he flung his arm over her shoulder, "you're an idiot..but I kind of like you"

"High praise!" Paul chortled.

Truthfully, it was easy to forgive Paul.

She smiled lightly at David before glancing up at the beach ahead once more. She hoped their walk to the bikes was a short one.

Dwayne was waiting for her.

"...so...can you guys do that again?" she asked tentatively.

Paul laughed, "don't know if it'll work if you know it's coming but let's try. What do you want? Butterflies or birds?"

A/N: As always, thanks to MissRuthless and MissJNori - you're wonderful readers and very, very kind reviewers. I genuinely keep writing with you in mind, I don't want to let you down or leave you hanging. FlowerChild, I appreciate your continued reviews very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!